I'm not sure if there's a thread for this but is anyone here going to see the new Star Wars movie? I was a huge fan of the originals but ended up hating the franchise after the prequels came out. I'm actually kind of excited to see this film, primarily because Lucas isn't involved. Anyone else?

there's no thread, but there's a "Media, Film & Television" subforum for things like that I'm gonna see it, probably the midnight screening. would rather have Lucas' original story for episodes VI-IX, tbh. JJ Abrams is good for pop corn movies like Star Trek and 8mm, SW requires a bit more "soul". some people have told me Joss Whedon would have aced it, but haven't watched Firefly, etc.

Thu Nov 26, 2015 10:55 pm

NTNR

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Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 3:29 amPosts: 899Location: Doom

Re: New Star Wars

abigail wrote:

there's no thread, but there's a "Media, Film & Television" subforum for things like that I'm gonna see it, probably the midnight screening. would rather have Lucas' original story for episodes VI-IX, tbh. JJ Abrams is good for pop corn movies like Star Trek and 8mm, SW requires a bit more "soul". some people have told me Joss Whedon would have aced it, but haven't watched Firefly, etc.

Firefly sucked. I'm a huge Buffy the Vampire/Angel fan and for years had lots of people telling me that Firefly was the best. So imagine my surprise when it turned out to be complete shit. Whedon isn't the writing god he's been made out to be. He got lucky with BTVS and Angel (and for arguments sake the first Avengers movie) but he's a hack. Lucas ruined Star Wars not only with endless updates to the originals but with the laughably bad prequels. I'm happy he's got nothing to do with this movie. JJ made Star Trek interesting and I'm not a trekkie. I think he'll do a good job. The fact that he want to use as many practical effects as possible as opposed to Lucas speaks volumes.

It's interesting that you'd say Abrams made Star Trek interesting. I do like much of Abram's work (big fan of both Lost and Fringe, and enjoyed Super 8 etc.), but his ST films were a total insult to the franchise in my book - terribly dull and uninspired screenplays, flat humour, canonical errors and contradictions all over the place. Entertaining to some degree, yes, but they were essentially just superficial sci-fi flicks for the masses. The fact that you refer to ST as "pop corn movies" and claim SW requires more "soul" really says it all. The ST franchise used to have much more depth, soul and, above all, relevance* to it. Don't judge ST primarily by the films, btw. They're just a minor addendum, even though some of them are really good (most aren't, sadly). SW, on the other hand, to me is essentially a fairytale in space which doesn't make much of an effort to comment on the socio-political situation of its time. Don't get me wrong, that's perfectly fine and I'm writing this as a fan of the original trilogy, but to claim it has/needs more soul than ST is simply wrong in my book, unless by "soul" you actually meen "pathos". As for the new one, I have no expectations, but will probably watch it someday.

*relevance in the sense of 'proper' sci-fi, i.e. dealing with essential human experiences in a challenging way and discussing questions of political and social topicality on a fictionalised level.

Saw it last night, (The Force Awakens) and as someone who grew up with the 'originals' I thought it was very good. Entertaining and true to the simple good vs. evil story from Episode IV. Better characters than much of the prequels. The references back to the original films were subtle where needed and the ones that weren't were nicely placed. Even some of the dialogue which was a bit 'Die Hard' in places coildn't spoil an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable experience. Worth a look.

_________________DOOM WHAT THOU WILT

Fri Jan 08, 2016 1:52 am

Bewitched

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Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:54 pmPosts: 323Location: Kyiv, Ukraine

Re: New Star Wars

Didn't expect anything from it and it was quite a nice thing to see. The main villain is very annoying though.

I purchased the blu ray this week. There are some great extras, including a 'Making Of' documentary that really demonstrates how JJ Abrams tried to embrace the feel of the original movies; real puppets, animatronics, actual sets and a life size Milennium Falcon that made grown men weep when they saw it!

Definitely recommended, especially for any Star Wars fan that never saw it at the cinema. We can finally consign the ghastly prequels to history's dustbin.

The only minor disappointment for me was that the rumour floating around the internet that Jar Jar Binks was going to be brutally killed in the opening scene turned out not to be true.

_________________I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears...in...rain. Time to die.

Fri Apr 22, 2016 8:37 pm

abigail

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Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2010 4:32 pmPosts: 446

Re: New Star Wars

Moonglum78 wrote:

The only minor disappointment for me was that the rumour floating around the internet that Jar Jar Binks was going to be brutally killed in the opening scene turned out not to be true.

this (and the yoda bit) were only in the theatrical version, and edited out of the dvd/br version... I think I heard they're still there as easter eggs, tho.

Wed Apr 27, 2016 3:25 am

NTNR

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Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 3:29 amPosts: 899Location: Doom

Re: New Star Wars

Moonglum78 wrote:

The only minor disappointment for me was that the rumour floating around the internet that Jar Jar Binks was going to be brutally killed in the opening scene turned out not to be true.

You can defile his skull in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. I think you get an achievement for it. lol. Also in the Lego Star Wars games, if you kill him X amount of times you get an achievement for it.